Ventricular assist devices, known as VADs, are implantable blood pumps used for both short-term (i.e., days, months) and long-term applications (i.e., years or a lifetime) where a patient's heart is incapable of providing adequate circulation, commonly referred to as heart failure or congestive heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, more than five million Americans are living with heart failure, with about 670,000 new cases diagnosed every year. People with heart failure often have shortness of breath and fatigue. Years of living with blocked arteries or high blood pressure can leave your heart too weak to pump enough blood to your body. As symptoms worsen, advanced heart failure develops.
A patient suffering from heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, may use a VAD while awaiting a heart transplant or as a long term destination therapy. In another example, a patient may use a VAD while recovering from heart surgery. Thus, a VAD can supplement a weak heart (i.e., partial support) or can effectively replace the natural heart's function. VADs can be implanted in the patient's body and powered by an electrical power source inside or outside the patient's body.
While a VAD can greatly improve the quality of a patient's life, the consequences of insufficient power for proper operation of the VAD are significant to patient safety. To minimize the risk of lack of power, VADs are frequently used in connection with powering systems that may be tied to one or several batteries or to the power grid. While these systems are able to reliably provide power to the VAD, they can be bulky, cumbersome, and, in many cases, inefficient. Thus, improvements in the systems and methods for providing power to the VAD are desired.